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  • Multi-Media Collection

Twelve Who Shaped San Diego: Kate Sessions, 1978

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TWELVESHAPEDSD-8-SESSIONS
Twelve Who Shaped San Diego: Kate Sessions, 1978
1978-10-24
Enter a free text date.
Producer: Hamlin, Peter
Crane, Clare
Kate Sessions (1857-1940) was a noted botanist, horticulturist, and landscape architect known as the "Mother of Balboa Park" and the Dean of California horticulturists. She was born in San Francisco in 1857, the eldest child of Josiah and Harriet Sessions. She grew up in Oakland where she developed her first interest in botany, and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1881. Three years later, Sessions came to San Diego to teach at Russ High School. The next year she bought the San Diego Nursery with some friends, eventually going into business for herself and helping to landscape the Hotel Del Coronado grounds. The City of San Diego entered into an agreement with Sessions in 1892 to operate a nursery on 30 acres of land in Balboa (then City) Park. During this time, she planted hundreds of eucalyptus, pine, oak, and cypress trees, which now loom so high against the skyline. Her advice and experimentation were vital in determining the location and type of planting done in Balboa Park for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. In 1939, Kate Sessions became the first woman to ever receive the Meyer Medal from the American Genetic Association for her contributions to horticultural science.

Producer Peter Hamlin and historian Clare Crane discuss with their guests the influence of Kate Sessions on the development of Balboa Park, and the significance of the Panama-California Exposition of 1915, which left a legacy of handsome Spanish-Colonial buildings that have become the cultural and community center of San Diego.

Elizabeth MacPhail discusses several aspects of the career and achievements of Kate Sessions, and her enduring contributions to San Diego's landscape.
Sam Hamill recalls his experiences as a boy at the Panama-California Exposition, his subsequent involvement in designing buildings for the 1935 Exposition, and his contemporary activities in preservation for the buildings along El Prado in Balboa Park.
Bea Evenson describes her activities in arousing public support for historic preservation, and the struggles of the Committee of 100 to save the Spanish-Colonial buildings in the Park.
Pauline des Granges discusses the importance of Balboa Park as a cultural and recreational resource for citizens, and its economic value as a tourist attraction.
Chauncey Jerabek shares his reminiscences of Kate Sessions' strong-willed personality, and her contributions to the science of horticulture in the importation of plants that would grow well in San Diego's particular climate and soil conditions.

Peter Hamlin; Clare Crane; Elizabeth MacPhail; Samuel Wood Hamill; Bea Evenson; Pauline des Granges; Chauncey I. Jerabek; Kate Sessions; Mother of Balboa Park; Panama-California Exposition; Committee of 100; Rosa Smith; Russ School (San Diego); San Diego High School; Horticulturists; City Park (San Diego); Balboa Park; Tree planting; Landscaping; Mission Hills; Boardwalks; Panama-California Exposition; Spanish Colonial Revival architecture; David Charles Collier; Bertram Goodhue; Cabrillo Bridge; Lauren Street Bridge; Clarence S. Stein; Urban planning; Urban planners; École des Beaux-Arts; Carleton Winslow; Richard Requa; Carrie Gertrude Gilbert; Walter Trepte; WPA; Works Progress Administration; Bea Evenson; Oscar Knecht; Tourist attractions; Pauline Degrange; Tourism; Harland Bartholomew and Associates; Harley E. Knox; Plant nurseries
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  • Multi-Media Collection
English
01:00:45
Yes
TWELVESHAPEDSD-8-SESSIONSTRANST
See TWELVESHAPEDSD-8-SESSIONSTRANST; further keywords from transcript: Nature talks; Plant introduction; Bougainvillea; Bird of paradise (plants); Poinsettias; Frank N. Meyer Medals; Glenn Rick; Xeriscaping
  • San Diego State University Library and Information Access, Special Collections and University Archives
Audio
MP3
83.63 MB
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